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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The day after making the deal with Matheus.
Werner boarded the food truck with Durand.
There was no reason to delay.
The composition of the troops to be dispatched to the Republic of Bostania, called the ‘Holy Cross Brigade’, as mentioned by the President, was also in its final stages.
It must have been related to the tragedy that had occurred in Saint Francis.
Moreover, it was said that the commander of the Holy Cross Brigade would be Heinz Bismarck, a former armored officer from the Graveyard who was a distant relative of the President.
Before he got involved in anything there, Werner wanted to uncover the secret hidden in the underground of the Armaments Bureau.
Because the people Werner Grimm—no, Luthers Edan, the ghost of the past—had to protect were not just his three fiancées.
That’s why he had even broken his own promise and sought out Durand, an old connection.
Because he judged that among others, Durand would be able to watch his own back well in this situation.
…Of course, the fact that he had the most amicable relationship with him among the people of the Graveyard was an added bonus.
“By the way, do you not need to groom your hair and beard?”
“This look is more natural. They won’t even be able to recognize who we are, and they’ll mistake us for ordinary people who just deliver groceries.”
“I see, you’re right.”
“We’ve also disguised ourselves with appropriate faces, haven’t we?”
That was true.
Both of them looked very different from their usual appearances.
To the point where one wouldn’t be able to notice that the other person was Werner Grimm unless they looked closely.
The two were wearing human skin masks used by the Strategic Security Agency.
The Strategic Security Agency was also an intelligence agency in its own right.
To dispatch agents to various places and collect information stably, disguising and falsifying the identities of agents was not a choice, but a necessity.
“Let’s depart.”
“Yes.”
Ka-ga-ga-gak.
Brrrr-!!
After finishing all the preparations for infiltration, Werner Grimm skillfully started the truck.
After driving for about an hour and a half.
Finally arriving at the checkpoint of the Armaments Bureau, heavily armed guards blocked the vehicle.
“Stop, stop!”
“Hey, the license plate is the same, but the driver is different from usual?”
“Ah, James and Max are absent today due to a stomach bug. I’m Mordon, and this is my assistant Del.”
“Both of them are absent at the same time…?”
Although he gave a suspicious look, Werner calmly recited the prepared scenario.
“Do you know about the Semi Restaurant in the city? They said they had meat soup there after work, and it seems that caused the problem.”
“Ah, Semi? Ugh… Even if there’s nothing to eat, why would they go there?”
Semi was a restaurant notorious among soldiers serving in the area.
It was famous for its cheap prices and 24-hour operation, but also for its terrible taste.
Unless it was something extraordinary, it was a restaurant to be avoided at all costs.
It was even treated as a mystery as to why it hadn’t gone out of business.
Since it had that level of notoriety, it was perfect to use as an excuse.
“Well, it’s the only 24-hour restaurant in this area.”
As Werner played dumb, the guard waved his hands in disgust.
“Alright, go in. Does it make sense for an employee of a company that handles ingredients to eat at such a crappy restaurant?”
“Hahaha, that’s why I’m saying. Take care.”
“Go in and come out quickly. There’s a lot of talk these days in many ways.”
They passed through the checkpoint and headed towards the parking lot.
After parking the vehicle in a suitable spot, they opened the back compartment and took out large carts.
Weapons hidden among the fresh groceries.
The infiltration was starting now.
Werner exchanged glances with Durand and pushed the food cart into the facility.
It was a place that served as the backbone of national defense.
A research institute where all kinds of weapons responsible for the Empire’s military power were developed.
As they entered, two guards who had been looking at their watches with bored expressions stretched and approached.
“You arrived on time today, oh. Your face is different?”
“Yamma, there was a call from the checkpoint. They said substitutes are coming in today.”
“Substitutes? While the brats are absent… I wish someone would substitute for us too.”
The two guards paid no attention to Werner and Durand.
“Empty your pockets, raise your arms, and you didn’t bring anything strange, right?”
“No.”
“Nothing, go in.”
The entire search consisted of just tapping their bodies.
Even that seemed troublesome, and a few times they just brushed through the air.
They didn’t seem to think that they would infiltrate this far to gather information.
Likewise, Durand, who was undergoing a ridiculously lax inspection next to him, shrugged his shoulders.
It was a reaction that he hadn’t expected it to be this empty.
‘The low-level guards probably don’t know that something is hidden.’
If things went wrong, Werner was planning to subdue them immediately and extract information, but judging by their attitude, it didn’t seem like he could obtain anything even if he subdued them.
He was not a murderer.
He wanted to minimize getting blood on his hands.
He couldn’t ask Durand, an old connection to whom he was indebted, to return to the battlefield again.
“Set the timer now.”
“Yes.”
Durand set the timer on his watch.
The given time was exactly 15 minutes.
They pulled out pistols and daggers from the food cart, as well as a jamming device that remotely damaged the electronic circuits of CCTVs.
Even without separate briefing or guidance, the two moved seamlessly as if they were one body.
First, they placed the food cart with the retrieved weapons in the facility’s kitchen, then immediately went to the restroom to change clothes.
Researcher’s clothing worn under the food service staff’s uniform.
Durand tightly tied his messy hair into a single strand and put on large glasses.
He had transformed from a mere laborer just a moment ago into a researcher with a sense of experience.
The clothes to be worn again when leaving were stuffed into the ceiling, so they could be perfectly hidden.
The time spent on changing was about 3 minutes, leaving about 12 minutes.
As Werner, who was also wearing glasses, tapped the temple, a faint red light blinked.
It was camera recording.
Securing evidence was more important than anything else.
“I think we can go down the stairs on the left.”
“The elevator is dangerous.”
As Werner spoke, Durand silently nodded his head.
They looked in the mirror for a moment to double-check their attire and calmly walked through the interior of the research institute.
Be as quick as possible, but there was no need to rush.
The internal map of the facility had already been obtained from Saloca, another cornerstone and information merchant.
Even the Armaments Bureau under the Defense Industry Agency, which boasted a vast site, was just a slightly wider corridor from the perspective of someone who already had a clear grasp of the location.
They strolled through the corridors, occasionally engaging in trivial conversations.
Their movements were so natural that the researchers passing by didn’t even glance at them.
He wasn’t a hunter’s descendant for nothing.
As someone who hunted animals with senses several times sharper than humans, his ability to blend into the environment was something even Werner couldn’t easily catch up to.
However, the only problem was the security inside the facility, but that could also be solved without difficulty.
The tightly closed entrance to the armory.
Werner took out the lighter he had in his pocket.
To be precise, it was an electric signal generator shaped like a lighter.
It wasn’t the first time he had raided the Empire’s secret facilities.
Werner had a plan for everything.
As if he had done it more than once or twice, while Durand patrolled the vicinity to create blind spots for the CCTVs, Werner unlocked the security door that had been tightly closed.
Patchik, pachuk!
As faint smoke rose from the electronic terminal controlling the entrance, the thick steel door split apart to the sides with a whir.
The basement of the Armaments Bureau.
The very place Charlotte had twisted her letters to convey to him.
Werner, who finally took a step inside, widened his eyes.
“What… is this?”
Huge test tubes were lined up in a row.
And what was sleeping inside them was ‘something’ that looked human.
But one thing was certain.
This fucking feeling that could be felt as soon as you saw it.
“Titans.”
As soon as he realized that fact, Werner felt like his vision was spinning.
The most terrifying memory from his numerous cycles began to surface.
-Lu, ther… s—.
Werner’s body swayed for a moment at the voice he had temporarily hidden beyond his unconsciousness.
“…”
Durand was equally shocked.
He, too, couldn’t forget even if he wanted to.
Like Werner, Durand Sterling had also sent countless Titans to their deaths as a member of the Graveyard.
“The President, these fucking bastards…”
Werner, who had barely grasped his reason, bit his lip and cursed.
What the hell were they making?
Did these idiotic morons think that humans could control the Titans?
How dare they? On what basis?
Moreover, not all the test tubes were full.
Some test tubes were empty.
Judging by the traces of ominous liquid that had pooled, it didn’t seem like they were empty from the beginning.
Escape? No.
Then…
At that moment when Werner was trembling with anger.
He finally realized why Charlotte had tried to let him know about this place.
And why she had committed the hydrogen bomb terror in Saint Francis.
“Could it be…”
The President had planted Titans in Saint Francis to make the Imperial Army intervene in the Republic of Bostania?
It was at that moment that all the pieces fit together as to why she had detonated the hydrogen bomb, became the worst criminal targeted by the President, and shot him.
“Charlotte.”
Werner, who had grasped the full story, quickly turned around to leave the facility.
But.
“Someone unfamiliar is strutting around the research complex? What kind of nonsense is this again!”
“It’s not the first or second time the higher-ups are making a fuss, is it? With that crazy bitch Charlotte or whatever causing a commotion, we have to be careful even if we have complaints.”
Someone was approaching them.
Soon, their eyes met with Durand’s.
Werner drew his gun without hesitation.
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